Bandage scissors



April 9, 1963 H. A. KIMMEL BANDAGE SCISSORS Filed Aug} 24, 1961 M X m M Z M A r J N v/ 5 United States Patent 3,984,433 BANDAGE SUSSORS Henry A. Kimrnel, Rose Valley, lau, assignor of one-half to J. Wesley Haubner, Wallingford, Pa. Filed Aug. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 133,649 1 Claim. (c1. sap-ass) My invention relates to scissors or shears of the bandage-cutting type, and more particularly to an improved lifting nose or wedging structure enabling such scissors to be used with greater effectiveness in cutting away very tight bandages without piercing a patients skin beneath the bandage.

Conventional bandage shears or scissors are commonly provided with a discrete wedge-like nose portion fixed t0 the tip of the lower or entering blade and projecting appreciably forward beyond the tip of the upper blade. Since the cooperating cutting edges cannot extend beyond the tip of the shorter upper blade, the entire projecting nose, usually having a substantial length and thickness, must enter between the skin and the bandage before any cutting action can begin. For this reason the use of such shears with very tight bandages is often quite difiicult, painful or injurious to an incompletely healed wound.

Accordingly, it is a general object of my invention to provide an improved bandage scissors having a wedging or lifting nose which does not extend forwardly beyond the front tip of the cutting edges.

It is another object of my invention to provide a wedging or lifting type bandage scissors having cutting edges extending to the forwardmost tip of the lower or bandagelifting blade.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a lifting or wedging type bandage scissors which offers no impediment to cutting very close to obstacles located at one side or at the front of the cutting edges, or both.

In carrying out my invention in one preferred embodiment I utilize a conventional bandage shears structure insofar as the handle shanks at one side of the pivot point are longer than and angularly disposed with respect to the cutting blades. In my improved scissors, however, the cooperating cutting edges of the blades extend to the extreme forward tip of at least that one entering or lower blade adapted for insertion between a bandage and the skin of a patient. This lower blade is equal in length to or slightly shorter than the overlying upper blade and is tapered in width toward its tip and slightly blunted to provide a wcdging bandage-lifting action. To improve this wedging action without interfering with shearing action at the forward tip of the lower blade this blade carries at its tip a laterally extending wedging projection or lifting nose. This lifting nose is on the outer surface only of the lower blade and thus lies entirely to one side only of the shearing plane. In planes parallel to the shearing plane, the lifting nose is tapered toward the blade tip, and preferably it is also slightly tapered outwardly in a direction perpendicular to the shearing plane. The upper blade preferably has a relatively large rounded or blunted tip which may, if desired, extend slightly beyond the tip of the lower blade to protect a user from accidental contact with the more pointed lower blade in handling the scissors when closed.

My invention will be more fully understood and its objects and advantages will be further appreciated by referring now to the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which FIG. 1 is side clevational view of a scissors embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the cutting blades, taken in the plane 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the 3,084,433 Patented Apr. 9, 1963 "ice scissors of FIG. 1 showing the opposite sides of the cutting blades;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through the wedging nose and cutting blades taken in the plane 44 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the leading tip of the lower cutting blade and laterally extending lifting nose.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 1, I have illustrated a bandage scissors comprising a pair of cutting blades 10, 11, each formed integrally with one of a pair of handle shanks 10a and 11a, respectively, and pivotally connected together for shearing action by a pivot pin 12. The pivot pin 12 is threaded into a tapped hole in the shank 11a and is provided at its other end with a bolt head which holds the shank 10a in pivotal relation on the pin. From a point slightly forward of the pivot pin 12 the cutting blades 10 and 11 extend at similar obtuse angles with respect to their respective handle shanks 16a and 11a. At their rear ends the handle shanks are provided with finger rings 1% and 11b, respectively.

As is customary with bandage scissors or shears, the cutting blades are considerably shorter than the handle shanks, for example about one-half the length from pivot pin to finger ring, in order to provide adequate mechanical advantage for cutting heavy bandages. The blades 10 and 11 have planar inner surfaces arranged for flatwise sliding engagement along a median shearing plane 13 (FIGS. 2 and 4) perpendicular to the pivot pin 12. Shearing is accomplished in the usual manner between the leading or cutting edges of these coplanar inner surfaces of the blades.

As shown in FIGS. -l3 the upper cutting blade 11 extends slightly beyond the leading tip of the lower blade 10 and has a relatively wide blunt or rounded forward tip 14, as best shown at FIG. 3. While such extension of the upper blade is not essential, it is desirable in order to protect an operator from accidental contact with the more pointed lower blade when carrying the scissors in close position. Such protection is afforded by a wider and slightly longer upper blade because with the scissors in closed position the pointed tip of the lower blade then lies snugly against and within the lateral outline of the upper blade. Whether or not the upper blade extends beyond the lower blade it should extend at least fully up to the leading tip of the lower blade (i.e. be of at least equal length) and in shearing relation therewith, preferably having a relatively wide and blunted forward tip which overlies the leading tip of the more pointed lower blade when the blades are in closed position.

The lower scissors blade 10 is tapered in width from a point of maximum width near the pivot pin 12 to a narrow or pointed leading tip 15 which is only slightly blunted, as best shown in FIG. 1. The cooperating cutting edges of both blades 10, 11 extend to the extreme front edge of the leading tip 15. The lower blade itself, therefore, is adapted for wedging insertion of its tip end between a bandage and the skin of a patient and permits cutting action immediately upon penetration.

In order to improve the wedging or bandage-lifting action and to protect the patient from its relatively sharp tip end 15 the lower blade 10 has formed at this tip end and upon its outer surface only a lateral wedging projec tion or lifting nose 16. The nose 16 is tapered in a direction parallel to the shearing plane 13 from its rear toward its front end, as best shown at FIG. 1. Preferably this forward taper of the nose 16 is efiected by forming the nose to conform generally to the tapering lateral outline or width of the blade 10 itself. In addition the nose 16 is tapered outwardly in a direction perpendicular to the shearing plane 13, preferably having a fiat upper surface, or land 16a, substantially perpendicular to the shearing plane and at the upper or shearing edge of the blade and tapering downwardly along the side of the blade 10 to a narrow point at the lower edge of the blade. This outwardly tapered shape (i.e. tapered in lateral cross section) is best shown at FIGS. 1, 4 and 5.

It will now be evident that the lifting nose 16 is tapered in two directions, forwardly and outwardly, for a selective or combined double-wedging action. Thus in operation the lower blade 10 may be inserted directly under a bandage in a direction perpendicular to the edge of the bandage or may be inserted at anangle to the bandage edge with the lateral lifting nose 16 foremost. It will also be understood that in either case cutting or shearing action is possible just as soon as any small front portion of the lifting nose is under the bandage, and for the reason that the inner shearing surface of blade 10 extends to the forwardmost tip endlS of the blade.

In a preferred embodiment of my invention the upper blade 11 has no lateral nose or projection on its outer surface. While his possible with the blades. of equal length to provide a lifting'nose 16 on each blade to permit reverse disposition of the scissors in use, I prefer to use one such lifting nose only in the manner shown inthe drawing. By thisunilateral structure the opposite side of the scissors is entirely unobstructed for close lateral juxtaposition to any barrier close to which a cut must be made.

While I have shown and described by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of my invention, modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. I therefore wish to have it understood that I intend in the appended claim to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A bandage scissors comprising upper and lower cutting blades pivotally connected together and having coplanar inner surfaces disposed for flatwise sliding engagement in a common shearing plane, saidlower blade being tapered in width forwardly toward a bluntly pointed leading tip adapted for insertion beneath a bandage and both said blades having cooperating cutting edges in said shearing plane extending to at least the extreme forward edge of said leading tip, said upper blade having a wide and bluntly rounded forward tip extending slightly beyond the leading tip of said lower blade and overlying said leading tip in the closed position of said blades, and a single lifting nose formed upon the outer surface of the leading tip of said lower blade only, said lifting nose having a forwardly tapered configuration conforming generally to Surgical Instruments, The Lawton Co. (copyright 1957 page 6 (copy in Div. page 7 (copy in Div. 53). 

